111 S. Elm Street
North Manchester, IN 46962-1723
March 14th, 2005-03-14
The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform
1440 New York Avenue NW Suite 2100
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Panel Members:
I am writing with regard to fair treatment under the law for same-sex couples in the United States
of America.
In reforming the country’s tax laws, I believe the government has a responsibility to draft
equitable legislation.
My own partner visited this country last year. While he was here, he needed to visit the doctor.
Had we been a heterosexual couple, I would be entitled to claim his medical expenses as a
deduction on my tax return. Because I am not heterosexual, I was discriminated against under
the existing laws.
Same-sex couples regularly face inequitable treatment where taxation is concerned. Consider the
following, taken from the Human Rights Campaign web site, for example:
Adverse Tax Consequences for Same-Sex Couples
1. Health Insurance for Partners - Employees pay income and payroll tax on the health
insurance premiums their employers provide for domestic partners who do not otherwise
qualify as dependents. Benefits for different-sex spouses are not subject to this tax.
2. Flexible Spending Accounts - Employees can use flexible spending accounts to pay for
a different-sex spouse's medical expenses, including eyeglasses, prescriptions, and copays, on a pre-tax basis. These accounts cannot be used for a same-sex partner, or even a
same-sex spouse.
3. Retirement Savings - Death and Taxes: Tax treatment of retirement savings, such as
those found in 401(k) plans, privileges spouses and penalizes same-sex couples. This
means that on the death of a partner, the surviving partner is left not only with the same
emotional loss that a different-sex spouse experiences, but also with an unfair tax bill.
This is problem is made even more acute by the fact that same-sex couples are denied
survivors' benefits under Social Security, even though they pay the same payroll taxes as
heterosexual workers.
4. Estate and Gift Taxes - Different-sex spouses get a complete exemption from estate and
gift taxes. But same-sex partners, even ones who are married in Massachusetts or parties
to civil unions in Vermont, are treated as strangers under the tax code. So when a partner
dies, their estate is subject to taxation.
Social Security - Adverse Consequences for Same-Sex Couples
1. Equal Contribution, Unequal Benefits - All GLBT people pay into Social Security on
an equal basis with their heterosexual counterparts, but are not eligible for equal benefits.
2. No Survivor’s Benefits - Same-sex partners do not receive survivor’s benefits when a
partner dies, even though they pay for them equally.
3. No Disability Benefits - Same-sex partners are not eligible for spouse's benefits when a
partner becomes disabled, even though they pay equally into the program.
4. Children Are Left Unprotected - Sixty percent of children being raised by same-sex
couples live in a jurisdiction where second-parent adoption is unavailable, meaning that
these children cannot secure a recognized legal relationship with one of their parents.
When a parent dies without such a legal relationship, the surviving child is not eligible
for surviving child benefits under Social Security, even though the deceased parent paid
into the program, and even if the parent supported the child for her whole life.
5. When a Child is Legally Adopted by Same-Sex Partner, Benefits are Unavailable Social Security provides "surviving parent" benefits to the parent caring for a minor child
when the other parent dies. But all children raised by same-sex couples are excluded from
this benefit, even though their parents pay equally into Social Security, because it is only
given to couples who are recognized as "spouses" under federal law, which same-sex
couples are not. Even though the benefit is for children and not spouses, children being
raised by GLBT people are denied it because their parents cannot marry.
If ours is indeed a nation that guarantees its citizens the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness,” I believe that our government has a responsibility to ensure that this applies also to
same-sex couples. It is very difficult for me as a gay man to feel that I am treated equally in the
eyes of the law. I do not want “special rights,” but to have the same rights as everyone else.
When my partner is sick and needs to visit the doctor, I don’t want to feel that I am going to be
shafted twice: (a) I can’t marry him, and (b) I’m not going to get a tax deduction.
I strongly encourage you to propose legislation that will reflect the fact that gay citizens deserve
equal treatment under the law, recognizing that this is indeed “a nation of laws and not of men.”
Sincerely,
Mark A. Spalding
-----Original Message----From: Mark Spalding [mailto:maspalding@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 1:23 PM
To: comments
Cc: field@hrc.org
Subject: Tax Reform
I have attached a letter which I would like to submit to the President's
Advisory Panel on Tax Reform. I believe that the tax laws need to be
restructured to make them fairer to same-sex couples.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Spalding